On a Dark Beach
by RubyD
Summary: Stranded on a lonely stretch of sand, Sora and Riku try to find some closure on issues remaining between them... Story takes place near the end of the game. Contains hurtcomfort and mature situations. [SoraxRiku] Epilogue is up! What about the Cricket?
1. Chapter 1

Title: On a Dark Beach  
Chapter: 1 of 2  
By RubyD  
Pairing: SoraxRiku  
Rating and warnings: Part 1 is PG-13, part 2 will be a hard R and will have adult content. Fic notes at the end.  
Summary: Together on a lonely stretch of sand, Sora and Riku try to find some closure near the end of the game.

---

**On a Dark Beach**

Sitting in the dark sands of a dark beach, Sora doesn't have to wait long before the conversation he'd been expecting ever since waking up in the mansion, and found that everyone had gone and grown up without him. He digs a shallow tunnel in the ground with his big shoes, drowning his senses in the sound of waves. They do sound the same, and if he closed his eyes he could almost believe they were just camping out back on the island.

"I'm sorry," Riku says carefully, breaking the illusion. His voice is quiet and heavy.

Sora looks at him, but Riku is turned away, hiding his face in that veil of hair. "It wasn't your fault," the Keyblade Master answers, maybe a little too quickly.

That head of white shook. "I opened the door."

"Any one of us would have opened the door if it gave us the chance. Even I would."

"You don't know that."

"We were kids. You did your best," he says, stern.

The silence that follows is short, and tense. Riku's the one to break it again.

"I tried to hurt you."

"Riku…"

"Shut up. I hurt you, and Kairi, and all those people on those worlds –"

"No, it wasn't you –" Sora insists.

"Sora, it _was_ me!" he shouts. He tries to stand, hoping that added height would emphasis his words.

"Riku, sit down, you're hurt –"

He keeps talking. "I _betrayed_ you, I… I tried to _kill_ you. I opened that door, I accepted the darkness, and didn't care what happened to our world or to anyone! And then, damn it, and then after Castle Oblivion? I forgot about it. About everything, and anything that had anything to do with you. You're my whole life, Sora. And then I_ forgot_."

"You… you were made to forget," Sora says uncertainly. He's shocked by his friend's outburst. "Leon and the others… they forgot too."

"But they still had their other lives. They had their home, their friends, and their world. I wandered in darkness for a long time, trying to figure out why I was out there, why I wasn't home, why I couldn't go home. But what is worse… is when I remembered again." There's a hitch in his voice. He'd always been aloof, even prideful, but now…

"Riku…" Sora stares up at his friend, not able to move as he frantically went on.

"I tried so hard to piece it together, to bring you back, and bring your Nobody back, and then I started to remember again – all the things I did, and tried to do."

"Riku, look at me."

"Saw it with new eyes. Saw what kind of person I was, that I am. I should have been better, stronger! I...!"

"Riku, look at me, damn you. RIKU!" he snaps, scared for him. He can feel his heart pounding, as if trying to escape. "We can't all be strong all the time, okay? You were a kid, I was a kid, we were all just kids - and maybe we still are, kind of. But you can't blame yourself for everything. I could have been better, too!"

It was Riku's turn to stare, unmoving.

Sora takes a deep breath. "I shouldn't have made you think that I… that I didn't want you around, because I _did_. I've always wanted you there with me! You, me, and Kairi, we were supposed to go off on the raft and travel the worlds together, but things happened. Things will _always_ happen, that's how life is. But I didn't think even _once_ that you weren't my best friend. I was mad at you a lot and it did hurt for a while – but you're still my best friend, Riku. You've always been that."

He stops, breathing deep at the rush he feels. They don't do anything but just look at each other while he collects himself.

"So I'm sorry, too," Sora finishes.

"Sora…"

"Yeah?"

"You don't get to say that." He's shaking his head.

"Riku?"

"No, you're not allowed because… because…"

"Riku…"

"I am so… so sorry," Riku says, almost angry, like he has been choking to get the words out for half his life. With little warning a sob fights its way forward, and he tries to swallow it but fails miserably. He seemed mortified at himself, at the crack in his shell. "For everything. I can't stop feeling – God, Sora, I…I'm - !"

Too weak to stay standing any longer, he gives in and stumbles to his knees and Sora rises to catch him. He holds him – they hold each other. Like a dam breaking after keeping back for so long, Riku's voice hitches and there's a low, pained sound. He's crying. It begins with a slow trickle, but soon he's crying like he never has before. This, Sora thinks, is probably true. Riku hasn't cried since he was four.

Between the shaking and the harsh gasps for breath are broken bits of _I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry._

But between each of _those_, Sora can finally say _I forgive you_ and _I'm sorry, too_.

---

Hours pass, or maybe days. Sora doesn't really know. It's a land of constant nightfall.

They were on a dark beach but a beach none the less, if rather once-removed from the familiar warm island where they use to run and play and build fragile kingdoms on. It might help explain why he feels so childish right then. He isn't a kid anymore, but he can still feel childish, and just a bit shy. Perhaps he has the right to, after having to grow up so fast.

He thinks the look that must be on his face is mirrored on the taller boy's, if not more so. Sora stares at Riku – Riku's nose, Riku's dried eyes, Riku's hair and mouth – feeling his head inch ever so cautiously forward. He breathes the air between them with tense little swallows, and tries to quash the flutter of nervousness in his stomach. It's the feeling he gets before taking a leap off a high platform, even though he knows the fall (the float, the glide) will be fun… even exhilarating. This is the moment before something happens – he doesn't know what's going to happen, exactly, only that something _will_ and it will be big and full of changes for the both of them.

_A whole new world_, he thinks, dryly.

Riku breaks the silence first, again. "Sora, can I –"

Sora anticipates the question, and leans forward into him, mouth pressing to mouth mid-sentence. He must have guessed right, because Riku kisses back, and tugs their bodies together like when they were holding, but this time it was for a different kind of need. Strong fingers work through Sora's hair, and he answers by grabbing Riku's shoulders.

Then, they separate. His friend's eyes have that look in them – wide-eyed and daring to hope, but cautious and shadowed with haunted thoughts. Those eyes stare at Sora like he would turn into the black sands they sat on and drift away with the tide. Like this was all a dream about to turn bad and he'd wake up, cold and empty.

"Riku?" Sora asks, closing his own eyes and leaning back in to touch foreheads. He's only starting to get used to seeing his friend like this – stronger, taller, older, but more vulnerable, less cocky and arrogant. Different. A lot of things happened while Sora was asleep.

"Your light," Riku tries to explain, hesitant, "it's so bright that sometimes… sometimes I can't see my own." He shuts his mouth and turns his head a little, embarrassed by the confession.

"It's there," Sora insists, his smile audible from his tone. "I know it, everyone knows it. You fought for us. You saved us and the worlds out there."

"No, _you_ saved them," Riku answers, with a little snort.

He laughs. "All right, how 'bout we say we _both_ did?" He could settle with a happy medium.

"If you _insist_…"

They kiss again. Things changed, but – as Sora realized – he'd always felt the same way for Riku, and they'd both fight to the ends of the world for each other.

"Sora…" Riku starts, "Are you – I mean, are we…?"

"Are we ready?" he asks for him. "I think we are. Nothing's stopping us. There's no one here but me and you."

His friend gives a wordless nod. "I guess we should, uh…"

"It's not that cold." Sora smiles as he slips off his jacket with a shrug.

---

To be continued.

---

Notes: I originally posted this to Livejournal under my at-the-time secret fanfic LJ alias unlocke. I've made some minor edits, and finally decided to post this to FF.N. I hope you've enjoyed! Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: On a Dark Beach

Chapter: 2

Pairing: Riku/Sora, Sora/Riku, and whatever derivative that includes "Riku" and "Sora" in the name – they have an equal relationship in my mind. But technically Sora x Riku, I guess.

Rating and contents: M for adult situations, angst, hurt/comfort, and a dose of sap.

* * *

**On a Dark Beach**

**Part 2**

First matter of business: clothing.

They're a little awkward, a little uncertain, and full of long limbs and shallow breaths as they peel off their clothes. Kicking off sock and shoe, they form a little make-shift nest in the ground with their outer jackets.

"I can't believe those things," Riku comments, staring at Sora's shoes.

"My feet are pretty big, so what?" he tosses back.

"Hm," he answers, skeptical.

Feeling particularly brave, Sora reaches up to the zipper of Riku's vest.

"Here, let me," Sora says, and helps himself. The rumble of the zipper tickles sensitive fingers, and gives way to even more sensitive flesh. Leaning close, he presses a warm kiss into the dip of the collarbone, following the crevice down to the middle of the older boy's chest. Riku sighs deep, and Sora lifts away enough for him to slip the vest down to the sands.

The first thing he notices is how big Riku is compared to him – his arms, his muscles, and the hard-earned strength, like he stepped into the darkness only to come out the other side as, well, as a man. It is the kind of strength that belongs in the Coliseum next to statues of heroes, and not under the sky of a dark world. Sora knows he's small but suddenly he feels even smaller in comparison.

Riku frowns, running a hand down Sora's arm. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" He sighs and then smiles. "I just have a lot of catching up to do."

But the next thing Sora sees is the bruise on Riku's side, an ugly mar spreading from back to front. The mark of their last battle with Xemnas is large, dark, and funny-colored.

"Looks bad," he notes, as he gently trails the tips of his fingers over it. That skin is warmer than the rest.

"Hurts too," Riku adds. A small hiss escapes him when Sora presses a little too hard.

Appalled, he jerks his hand away. "Sorry!" he says. Then after a moment of thought he places the hand on Riku's chest, and pushes a little. He orders, "Lie down."

Riku does so, with only a quiet groan of complaint. Carefully, he lies on the bed of shirts, which is slightly more comfortable than being on sand. Sora kneels next to him, suddenly at an impasse: he doesn't want to hurt him, but he really, really wants to _touch_ Riku. His best friend lying on the ground, staring up at him with those eyes, and with that expectant expression made the strange hot ember in his heart move to the pit of his stomach.

For the first time in his life, Sora thinks he can read Riku like a book.

Riku, who thought he had replaced him with new friends. Riku, who wandered the darkness, alone. Who also sacrificed his body to put the pieces of Sora back together. Who went through his own humbling personal hell. And still, after all that, didn't blame Sora one bit for anything.

Riku, who loved his friends more than he cared about himself, and would gladly step in the way of a killing blow to protect them.

…That last thought didn't settle well with Sora.

"I wish I could manage a decent cure spell or a potion…" He trails off.

A look flickers across Riku's face. "Yeah," he answers, oddly neutral. "That fight really took all your magic."

"But, man, we were great!"

"I'm glad you're okay, Sora."

"Yeah?" And when he avoids looking him in the eyes, Sora knows that something's up. "What's the matter? Riku…"

Riku doesn't say anything, but tugs him forward again for another kiss – but before their lips meet, a realization strikes him.

A man on a mission, he pulls away and descends on Riku's legs… and digs through the very large pockets of his pants. His friend looks mortified and tries to stop him, but there is a glint of victory in Sora's blue eyes as he hears something clink, like glass on glass. Jamming his arms into the pockets, he fishes out his prize: two potion bottles. Their contents glow faintly green, a color he learned to associate with healing.

Suddenly feeling very cross, Sora flips a leg over Riku's waist and straddles his hips.

"Riku, why haven't you used any?" he demands, frowning.

"I forgot?"

"_Yeah, right_."

"Those potions are for you, not me," he answers, dismayed at being found out but trying to sound irritatingly rational about it. "We don't know if there are any more Heartless or Nobodies out here, and you'll need them if we get attacked."

Sora allows a moment to digest that. Then, uncorking a potion, he shoves the bottle at Riku's face. The other bottle is tossed to the side. "Drink," he orders and glares.

"Sora … "

"Right now, you should have this."

"No, it's all right – "

"Take it!"

"I don't mind – "

"But _I _do," the Keyblade Master nearly growls. He pokes Riku in the side, and the sting of pain is enough to make him gasp. "You got hurt trying to protect me. Do you think I _want_ you to _stay_ hurt because of me?"

"No…" he shudders, jerking away from the touch. "That's not it!"

"Then what is it?"

"Y-you - " He breathes. "You deserve to be okay."

"Riku," the smaller boy replies, his voice dropping to a gentler tone. The gloved hand shifts and cups his bruise protectively, as if in apology. "I want _you_ to be okay – you deserve it too, stupid. You don't have to do this to yourself. Drink - "

"But…"

" - Or I'll dump it on your head," Sora threatens lightly. "That'll work, too."

"Come on, Sora."

"_Please_?"

That shuts him up. Warring with himself for a moment, he finally gives in with a reluctant sigh. Riku props himself on his elbows, tilts his head, and opens his mouth to the offered bottle. With a triumphant grin, Sora carefully tips and pours the potion, letting him drink slowly and making sure nothing spilled. As they watch, the purplish bruise begins to fade, washing away with each gulp until the only evidence of it is a slight tinge of color.

When he is done Sora lifts away the bottle to set it aside and the last drop of the potion escapes down Riku's chin. He cups his friend's face and wipes it away with a thumb.

"Good boy," he teases. "Feel better?"

"Much," Riku admits, and leisurely licks Sora's thumb. "I feel _good_."

The brunet finds himself very warm very quickly and all over. Horribly fascinated, he doesn't pull away when Riku takes the thumb into his mouth and sucks it whole.

He really likes potion, Sora thinks, slightly delirious. And Riku really does some_interesting_ things with his tongue.

With a promising scrap of teeth over knuckle, Riku finishes and releases the hand from his mouth, and stares up with a knowing smirk. Sora is still fully clothed, but that sea-green gaze raking over his lithe form makes him feel naked.

"Jerk," Sora tells him. Red-faced, he leans down to kiss Riku again and taste the lingering remnants of potion on his lips. The drinks were sweet without ever being too sweet, filling not just the mouth and stomach, but his whole body to ease away the aches and pains.

They taste each other, tongue flicking to the other's mouth, cautious hesitations melt into something fiercer. A hunger burns in Sora's gut, and they greedily eat the other up.

Riku mumbles something before he slips warm hands under Sora's shirt. His heart flutters as fingers dance a path up his back to the knotted curves of his muscles and ribs, and further to where no one has touched him before. The calloused hand gives his nipple an experimental tweak and Sora lets out a little _ah_ of surprise.

Liking the reaction, his lover-to-be gives him another twist, and Sora _squeaks_ this time. Feeling competitive, he returns the favor by squirming hard where he sits on top of Riku, which invokes a groan. Their needs are becoming more and more apparent with each moment.

The older boy replies with a low rumble of approval and, before either one could change his mind, Riku strips off Sora's shirt in one smooth tug. They separate long enough to toss the offending article to the side before pressing against each other again, skin to skin. He moves his kisses down Sora's neck, and makes it as far as the silvery crown pendant before he pauses.

"Riku? What is it…?"

"Nothing."

"When did you get so bad at lying?"

"When I stopped lying to myself," he mutters, ending in a dry laugh. "Sorry. I just… after what I did, I never thought we could – that you would…" he trails off uncertainly.

"I always want you to throw potions at me," Sora states with a smile, out of the blue. He rests his chin on Riku's head. "And I always want to force-feed them to you. We'll sleep on beaches, all the time. Where you are, that's where I wanna be – I didn't search all the worlds to just leave you behind again."

"You deserve more… a lot more."

"I don't care what I deserve. I _want_ you, Riku." Sora takes Riku's face between his hands and looks into his eyes. His voice is steady as he asks, "So, what do _you_ want?"

He doesn't blink, and answers, "I want you too, Sora. After you woke up in Twilight Town… and even before… I wanted you so much. I wanted to talk to you, see if you were okay, to know if you were still _you_ - " His voice cracks. "…To hold you."

"Hold me," he tells him. Riku's eyes can't lie, and the look he gives is full of need, of desire, and raw honesty. Sora's own heart throbs in response and a soft voice in the back of his mind whispers, _And_ _don't let go_.

---

Riku wraps his arms around Sora's waist. They kiss again, this time gentle, sweet, and deep.

After some difficulty removing their pants ("Did those fairies give you pants, or a chastity belt?" Riku complained.) they move on to the second matter of business.

They move together, fumbling and stumbling with tangled limbs, but find a dance as natural to them as fighting back to back against overwhelming odds. Sora thrusts himself against Riku, their erections twitching and bumping each other. The heat builds between them with frantic, quick, and rough movements, but Sora thinks there must be an easier way for the both of them.

Experimentally, he reaches down and takes Riku into his hand and gives a careful squeeze. The taller boy bucks and his eyes fly open with surprise.

"Do that again," he gasps.

Pleased at that, Sora shifts and gets a better grip on him, and tries to wipe dirty thoughts from his mind about holding a Keyblade in the same way. He strokes once, then twice. A strangled sort of moan comes from Riku as his friend tries to control himself, and it's a sound so new and strange to hear from him that Sora instantly loves it. He begins pumping in a steady rhythm, almost in awe at the reactions he is getting.

_Am I really doing this?_ he wonders. Riku twists his hands into the clothes around them, breathing harsh, and moving with each jerk.

Sora focuses on his task, touching as much as he could, and working up the nerve to give the wet and weeping head of Riku's sex a lick - but he can't bring himself to just quite yet. The act was deceptively simple but somehow daunting at the same time. Maybe he was nervous about doing it wrong, or badly, or maybe how it would… taste. Still, everything seemed to be going very well, but Riku's trembling hand on his own forces him to stop.

"Ah! Riku, did I hurt you?"

"It's okay, it's okay," he breathily reassures him. "But if you keep going I might – I might finish too fast, and I want _this_ to keep going."

Sora opens and closes his mouth, fishlike. "Oh, uh… _oh_."

Face flushed and eyes lowered into a dusky stare, Riku slides an arm around Sora and rolls them over so that their positions are reversed.

"Your turn, now?" he asks, tracing the line down the center of Sora's chest. The brunette just nods, eyes wide, and tries not to stare too hard as Riku crawls down his body and hovers just below his navel. Then he gives the Keyblade Master a thoughtful, almost shy, glance.

_Is he…?_ Sora thinks and wonders if he'll come from the anticipation alone. Any other thoughts he might have had melts away when Riku takes him in his mouth. Sora can feel the blood rushing to his face and the rest of his world narrows down to _warm, hot, slippery. _

"Rikuuu…!" he wheezes and rests a hand in that head of white hair, kneading with his fingers. He's embarrassed at himself, finding that he wants more, faster, and now. Riku hums a response, and _that_ feels good, too. But a few moments later he lifts away with a slurp, leaving Sora to strain and twitch in the air, frustratingly alone. He whines, "Riku…?"

"Sorry - just a second… where is it?" Riku's fishing around their belongings, making a bigger mess.

"What are you - ?"

"This," he says, a tentative smile on his face. He has the remaining potion in his hands, and uncorks it with a pop. "It'll make it feel better." Riku coughs, blushing.

"M-make what?"

"This is your first time, right?"

"Yeah, of course!" Sora shakes his head to clear his thoughts, unsure and suspicious. "…Isn't this yours?"

"This will feel good, I promise," Riku says, looking down. Carefully, he pours a bit of potion on Sora's stomach. It's cool to the touch and Sora flinches as it hit, but the comforting scent of the potion seems to soothe the air between them. Riku rubs the slick liquid until it warms up. Hands wet and covered, he takes Sora's erection and coats it as much as he can, add more from the bottle until he's quite drenched in the stuff.

"It tingles," Sora comments.

Riku wipes his hand on his thigh before shifting, and then he's kneeling on all fours over Sora, erections grazing. They're face to face again, and Riku looks like he wants to say something.

"_Oh_," says Sora, realizing what his best friend intends to do.

"Is this okay?"

"Yeah! If it's, uh, okay with you, that is."

Riku gives a snort of relief. "Then it's okay." He leans back a bit and slowly sits down. He wavers slightly, and grips Sora's shoulder.

Reaching back, Sora grabs Riku's arms to steady him. His erection presses against Riku's bottom, slipping along the crevice until he finds entrance. The potion is mercifully good, and allows him to slide in with a small grunt of effort.

"You're pretty big for your height, you know," Riku says, his light tone a little strained. He begins to thrust himself up and down on Sora.

"Are you… calling me… short?" Sora pants, arching his back. Speaking seems ridiculous at this point, and everything feels so hot and tight he doesn't know how long he can control himself. "I'll catch up… you'll see."

Riku only laughs at that, a glad, happy sound. Sora realizes it's been nearly two long years since he's heard Riku like that. He tries to sit up, just enough to brace himself with an arm behind him and another to hug his lover close – _closer_ – to him.

"Riku," he says voice oddly hoarse. He buries his face against him, fighting against the emotion threatening to flood out of him. "Riku, Riku." He loves that name. He loves Riku.

Riku for his part holds and rides Sora harder, faster. Soon, they're beyond thinking, and talking, leaving only the act, and the hushed air full of their gasps and groans. They move with each other, not perfectly in synch but good enough for all the lack of experience. Tumbling towards the finish, it's Riku who comes first, spilling over their stomachs with a soft cry of liberation that carries Sora over the edge, too. He thrusts hard and reaches as deep and far as he could go, and he feels his heart alternatively diving and soaring through the sky. All too quickly, it was over.

With the release follows a numbing, warm relief that wraps around them. Sora and Riku fall over with a thump, panting, and finally noticing the cool air blowing across their sweat-streaked bodies. They smell of potion, and sticky sex.

"We should clean up," Riku breathes into Sora's ear. "Wash ourselves."

"Later," Sora murmurs sleepily in his arms. He wipes the curtain of hair from Riku's face, and gives him a kiss on the forehead. "Tired. Love you."

Riku starts at that, but then presses his face against the nook of Sora's shoulder and neck. "Thank you," he sighs. "Love you, too."

He tugs what he can of their clothes over them, an improvised blanket. There they sleep, holding tight, not willing to let go even as they dream.

---

End of Chapter 2

* * *

End Notes: Stay tuned for the epilogue! 


	3. Epilogue: What about the Cricket?

Title: On a Dark Beach

Epilogue

Pairing: Sora/Riku, other characters include Kairi and the whole Disney gang.

Notes: Thanks to palatyi for beta!

* * *

**On a Dark Beach**

**Epilogue**

_They're home!_ Kairi's heart nearly sings as her boys stumble out of the waves and onto the beach with an odd crew of animals in tow. For the next ten minutes all they can do is hug, laughing with joy at the reunion, especially as Pluto launches at them like a dog-shaped missile and barrels Riku over.

"Hey, boy!" he says, getting covered in slobber. Mickey pulls Pluto off him, and distracts the excited dog with a stick.

Kairi gives Sora another hug, her clothes practically wet now. Her hand still grips the charm. "I knew you'd come back."

"Of course!" he says with a cheeky grin, before Pluto decides to barrel him over as well. Kairi sees Riku watching them, so she goes over and hugs him again, too, for good measure.

"Thank you," she tells him.

"For what?" Riku asks.

"For being there for Sora and helping him."

He smiles kindly at Kairi, the look on his face almost apologetic. "I think you have it backwards. He helped _me_."

Kairi tilts her head at him, curious. The old Riku would have never admitted such a thing.

Then, Goofy is the first to ask, "Gwarsh, where's Jiminy? Wasn't he with you, Sora?"

Riku and Sora freeze.

---

"Jiminy! We are _so sorry!_" Sora apologizes a few minutes later, even as Riku fishes a little blue hat out of the brunet's hood. "I completely forgot that you were there!"

"I-its quite all right," the cricket says quietly. "I'm just a conscience. Everyone forgets from time to time." Drenched from the ocean water, Jiminy sits with his hands covering his face, rigid and impassive in the crook of Donald's feathery palms. His little cheeks are all red, which is quite impressive for a bug that was naturally green.

Kairi leans over in sympathy, fighting the urge to pet him. "Poor thing."

"If we turn green when we're sick, does that mean he's sick if he's red?" Goofy wonders aloud. "Got any medicine?"

"What did you two do to him?" Donald squawks.

Riku and Sora give each other a _look_.

"Nothing," Riku states, promptly handing over the hat. Jiminy accepts it, graciously, and then jams it on.

"We could of… _squished_ you!" Sora adds unhelpfully, and flails. "I-I mean, with the fighting, and Xemnas! And the water, and the falling from the air…!"

"Golly! I'm sure glad you're safe, Jiminy!" Mickey says, scooping the cricket up and setting him on his shoulder.

"T-thank you, your Majesty," he says. He takes a calming breath and looks up at last. "These two are quite an extraordinary pair… so I really wasn't in much danger at all. I've chronicled everything in my memo – with some minor edits, of course," he adds, giving the boys a knowing arch of his eyebrow

Riku and Sora both suddenly find the sand at their feet and the lint on their clothes to be very interesting, and unconsciously take a step away from each other in embarrassment.

"Minnie and I will be happy to hear all about it." Mickey chuckles. With that, Jiminy slips into the back of the King's own hood, murmuring to himself about 'from time to time…'

"You two – " Kairi starts as she loops an arm each around Riku and Sora, " – have a lot of explaining to do, too. Your parents have been so worried!"

"Our parents?" Sora echoes distantly.

"Our families…" says Riku. "What should we tell them?"

"Tell them everything," she answers, smiling. "We'll tell_everyone_ everything! They'll be so surprised."

Sora chews on his lip. "Will they believe us?"

"Of course. It'll be hard not to." She tugs them closer, just happy to be with her friends again. "It was really quiet without you two here."

"We're sorry," both boys say, like a children being scolded. They all hold each other; the meaning of_homecoming_ is finally starting to sink in. Then…

"Come on, you guys," Sora declares as he darts forward suddenly. He looks over his shoulder, eyes bright. "I'll race ya across the island - all of you! And the winner gets a million munnies!"

"You don't have that much!" Donald shouts.

"Oh yeah?" he replies, turning and jogging backwards. "Okay, I guess I'll keep it all!"

"Not if I beat you, first!" Riku smirks, breaking into a run. It's no surprise when the others join into their caucus race, a strange line of characters running across the bright beach.

She looks at her boys – her wonderful, beautiful boys, who grew up so much while they were away. They came back better friends than ever, knowing what the other was thinking with a glance, or a touch, while Kairi was left half-wondering. And whatever secret she could sense they were keeping… she hopes they'll let her catch up someday, too.

Taking a deep breath, she runs.

---

**  
The End**

* * *


End file.
